


Deja vu

by markleemar



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst??, Deja Vu, Drama, Fluff, Friendship, Gay, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Missing Brother, Visions, im not good with tags, red velvet wendy is marks little sister
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28487499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markleemar/pseuds/markleemar
Summary: for a while now, mark has been having visions. at first he didn't think much of it, but then it got worse. neither did he or any of his friends have the slightest idea what it might lead to.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. the letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this is not proofread so please excuse it if there's any typos. i also write with lower case because i want to. yeah i think thats it actually :)

_he screamed, but no sound came. it was like all the noise around him faded to a low muffle. he looked down to see an arrow that was shot in his stomach, blood poured out, dripping onto the green grass. the boy could feel his head getting dizzy and his vision blurred. he fell to his knees with a low grunt, one hand found its way to a big rock next to him while the other stayed over the wound, trying to keep it from bleeding. he heard someone call his name but it was faint, he couldn't place where he'd heard the voice before but felt a wave of comfort from them, as if they cared about him, as if they were there to help him._

"mark!" a voice hissed next to mark. mark looked to his side and there, runjun sat. they were still in class, and it seemed like renjun was the only one who'd noticed. a rush of sickness filled mark's body and he stood up and hurried out of the classroom. he yelled an excuse to the teacher before he left completely and ran to the bathroom. he hovered over the toilet, expecting everything he ate for lunch to come out but nothing. he breathed heavily and fast and tried to calm down. he cleared his mind and waited for runjun to come, he always did that because mark had told him about the visions he'd been having lately. he tried to remember what had happened so it woukd be easy to tell renjun. 

not long after, renjun entered the bathroom. his face showed concern, but he didn't say anything yet. "there- there was blood, r- renjun. i need to- to find a way to help him." mark uttered with desperarion in his voice. he felt so helpless, he didn't know who the boy was, he didn't know where he was or what he looked like, but he knew he wasn't safe and that he needed to help him. renjun squatted down next to him, putting a hand on mark's shoulder. "what happened?" he asked calmly, though mark could sense his worry. mark took a deep breath and so he told renjun. 

once mark had told renjun, renjun looked more concerned than he ever had before when he had been told about the visions. it had started faint with only muffled and slurred voices you could barely make out what was said but mark had still told his friend. at first, renjun hadn't believed him, but once the visions happened more frequent and he saw how tense it made mark, he realized it wasn't a joke. he'd suggested to tell an adult, but mark had refused, even after all of renjun's reaons to why it would be for the best, he still refused. _"they wouldn't understand."_ had been mark's final words on that subject. so the only one who knew about it except mark and renjun was their other friend, lee jeno. at first he thought they'd both gone mad, but after a long talk, he believed them.

"you okay now?" renjun asked and helped mark up on his feet again. mark nodded weakly before starting to walk back to class. "school's over in a few minutes, wanna come over to my house and talk about what you saw?" 

"no, i think i'll just go home."

renjun nodded and patted his back gently. "just call if you need anything."

mark was only halfway home when it started to rain. and since that morning, there had been no sign of raun, he hadn't brought an umbrella. which included to, when he got home, he was soaking wet. "maybe i should've accepted renjun's offer as he's always driven home." he muttered grumpily to himself on his way to his room. he quickly changed his wet clothes to an oversized hoodie and sweatpants. he sat down on the chair and opened his computer that had been lying on his desk for ages, getting a thick layer of dust on top of it. 

he hadn't dared searching it before, but as the seen had been pretty scarring, he needed to know more about his visions. so that's why he had for almost 3 hours straight, reading about visions and people who've had similiar visions like him. but it all made evrything worse, none of the cases he'd read about had ended well, some had died trying to do as their vision had told and some was driven mad because of it and was still in a psychiatric hospital, and some even commited suicide. the latter most popular. with that in mind he locked the computed and went downstairs to get some food. he wondered if anyone had actually made it, if they'd made the way to the unknown place which seemed to be different for everyone. he hoped so, 'cause if they had, there was a possibility that he could make it as well.

mark's parents were out on a business trip, as usual, so he was required to make food for him and his little sister wendy. he clearly wasn't the best cook, so wendy was the one who chased him out of the kitchen and made the food herself, but today wendy was in her room and studied for her upcoming exam and threatened that if she had to come out and save the food, he wouldn't see sunlight ever again. so today mark made sure he made something that was impossible to fail. pizza.

he had tried to make pizza before which probably would've ended up burning down the kitchen if it wasn't for his mom who thought she smelled smoke (and it wasn't far from the truth either), though at that time he was only 12 and didn't use a recipe. if it wasn't for that incident he probably would've thought it was ridiculous, since he was after all 17 years old and should know how to make at least a decent pizza. so after reading through the recipe about 10 times, he finally started and made sure to put at least two alarms on, just in case. 

when he took the pizza out of the oven, a satisfied smirk could be seen on his face. he let it cool for about a minute or two becuase slicing it into 8 almost perfect slices, and put 4 on wendy's plate and 4 on his own. he grabbed wendy's plate and went to her room. he knocked on the door before saying jokingly, "was it here a perfect pizza with ham and cheese was ordered?"

he heard footsteps from the other side of the door and soon it opened, revealing a pretty annoyed wendy. "i don't want your bur- wait, it's not burned." her voice highered a pitch at the end, making it seem like a question.

"yeah, no need to look so fucking surprised." mark snapped back. glaring at her, he gave her the plate and turned his back to his sister. "just because mom and dad's on a business trip doesn't mean you're allowed to curse." wendy shouted after him.

"okay, _mom_." mark shouted back, emphasizing on the word 'mom', knowing it would piss her off.

mark sat down, but before he could start on his pizza another vision came. it wasn't like his usuals, this time, he could _feel_ it as well. he could feel the cold air surround him, he felt the hard cement floor. he was shivering and he could only see a hand, a paper, a feather quill, some ink in a weird, small bottle-ish thing and someone's warm breath making a small cloud of air that faded up in the room. the person's handwriting was really extraordinary and old, as if he lived a hundred years ago. it was a letter, a letter to him, that he was pretty sure of.

_Hello Mark._

_I'm sorry, this is the second vision you have today, and the effects they have aren't the_

_most pleasant. Trust me, I know. This is the only way I figured I could communicate with_

_you without getting caught and getting in more trouble than I'm already in. There aren't_

_much I can explain in one letter, but I'll try and explain more later. You might be confused_

_with why you get all these visions lately, and I'm sorry again that I'm not allowed to explain_

_it to you. But what I can say is that I need your help. I'm in trouble already as you know,_

_and I need your help because trust me, I've tried myself but I already knew I needed help_

_from you. This is all I can say for now, and hopefully it's not too much for you to take in._

_\- xx_

and mark was back to reality. he sat and thought for a while, wondering what to do. he had told him that he needed help from him, but he didn't know how to get there oe what he needed help with. he remembered the pizza he had made, and suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore. he needed renjun and jeno. he got up, threw the pizza in the trash before finding his phone and called renjun.

"renjun, i had another vision. can i come over and call jeno for me please."

_"yeah, okay, i will. bye."_

"bye."


	2. the snake

mark's legs felt weak and he was glad renjun's house wasn't further than it was. he didn't bother to knock and just walked in, kicking his shoes off before walking to the basement. there he found, jeno and renjun talking quietly among themselves, sitting on the old grey couch. once they noticed mark's presence, they immediently shut up and looked at him. their gaze were intense and he could sense they were worried about him. 

"so?" jeno spoke, breaking the silence that had gone somewhat awkward. mark flopped down on the couch and let out a quiet sigh. he scratched the back of his neck before folding his hands in his lap. "it was different this time," he said,not looking at his friends, "i could feel it. it was cold and he was sitting on the floor. i don't get how his handwriting was still so pre-"

"handwriting?" renjun inquired, cutting mark off. 

"yeah, he was writing. it was to me, i could tell because he wrote my name on top of it. i think he's the one sending me visions." mark explained, still not looking at his friends, though he could feel their eyes on him. 

"okay but what did he say?" jeno asked.

"he said that he was in trouble and that he needed my help. he also apologised a lot, for sending me another vision, for nit being allowed to say his name as that would get him in more trouble and etc."

"so, what are you gonna do?" 

"i need to find a way to write back... any tips?"

so the next day the three found themselves in the weirdest part of the liberary at their school. no one ever went their, and it was mostly, if anyone ever actually went there, a dare. there was rumors going around the school that it was cursed, mark never believed that it was _cursed_ , but he did believe the things that had happened. not everything, but some. and after his visions, he started to believe them more. so with ignoring the anxiety that something bad was going to happen, they walked in and started to study the books. but it didn't matter how much mark tried to ignore it, the feeling of being watched was there. he turned several times to his friedns, only to find them looking over book or reading deeper into one.

"do you feel that, too?" mark asked so quietly it was almost inaudible, as if not to disturb the quiet atmosphere. renjun and jeno both looked up at him, they looked so calm he almost felt bad for saying anything. "feel what?..." renjun asked, puttng his book down. his voice sounded alarmed and a flash of anxietly could be seen in his eyes, though otherwise he looked calm and relaxed. mark didn't say anything at first, merely looked around the closed off room, trying to spot anythung abnormal.

"the feeling of being watched? yeah, i feel it too." jeno's hushed voice was heard, and his eyes were fixed on one part of the room. mark followed his eyes and to his surprise, an older woman was standing there, watching them with hawk eyes. _why hadn't he seen her?_ the question lingered in his mind longer than it should. the woman had a pair of thick glasses, she was wearing a flowery blouse with jeans. if mark hadn't had a bad feeling about her, he would've just believed she was the librarian, that he appearntly had never seen before or for that sake knew existed. "so, what are you three doing here?" she asked, interrupting mark's thoughts. her voice was stern and had an odd pitch to it, it was as if she tried to change her real voice. _noted_. 

when none of the boys answered, renjun took a step forward, on his face were a fake smile. but the smile was covered so well that only the people that knew him as well as mark and jeno did could tell what it was hiding. "we were just looking for a book, but i think i found it so there's no need for help." he spoke calmly.

"wipe that fake smile off your face, i know why you're all here." the woman sneered. from the side, mark could see her eyes go from human to snake and back to human. "renjun, back away." mark said, less demanding than planned but fear was taking over his body. with shaky and unsteady steps, he walked over and shielded renjun and jeno behind him. he stared at the woman, or whatever she was, he wasn't sure anymore. "what are you?" he asked, suddenly feeling stonger as his friends were safer behind him.

"stonger and more powerful than you, young boy." she hissed, fangs started to form and grow from her teeth. her body started to reform, her skin bubbling and legs and arms melted together. all three of the boys' eyes widened. a snake. "what the fuck is _that_!?" jeno yelled as he backed away, grabbing both renjun and mark's shirt, bringing them with him. the snake hissed at them, following them to the corner of the room. it was big, it had to be at least 7 feet long, and 2 feet round. 

then, the worst that could happen in that exact situation, happened. everything around him blurred, and he could feel his body float away, or that was at least what it felt like at that moment. the last thing he felt was himself falling on his knees.

_he was walking, hands on his back as they were handcuffed. when he walked too slow, someone behind him pushed him, hard. he was looking at the floor, head low as if he was ashamed for what he'd done. then, he stopped. the boy looked up. in front of him was a tall man, big beard and a crown on his head. he couldn't hear what the man said, it was all a muffled slur, but his vooce was loud and tough. it was easy to understand he was king of wherever this was. when the king was done talking, the boy was taken somewhere. his arms were hold tight as if he would run away._

mark got back to reality with a gasp. and there the snake was, but it wasn't looking at him, it was looking at renjun. it was as if the snake thought mark was dead, it payed him no attention, it was only renjun and jeno on its mind. the both of them, renjun and jeno, threw whatever their hands could grab at the snake, but they were running out of things. soon they would have to stan up and climb to get the book they hadn't used, or they would have to near the snake. mark was watching them, he was frozen as renjun threw the last book. it his the snake in the eye. the snake hissed angrily but seemed to have no injuries. renjun and jeno backed away as far into the corner of the room as possible, the snake following them slowly, but was ready to bite the first one that tried to get away.

its eyes were fixed on renjun when jeno noticed movement in the corner of his eye. and there mark was standing, but his eyes looked behinf him.there on the wall, two swords hung. one with some red things that shone and the other some green. "behind you." jeno mouthed hastily, and fortunately mark understood. he turned around and grabbed the red one. just as the snake was about to lunge forward mark yelled, "hey! over here, you ugly, rotten snake!" and as hoped, the snake turned to mark, fear flashed in its eyes. it hissed and lunged forward for mark, but mark was quiecker. he swung the sword and it hit the snake by the neck, decapitating the snake before it vanished in a cloud of black smoke. 

mark dropped the sword and covered his face in the hoodie he was wearing. he ran over to his friends and fell to his knees again, but this time on purpose. "are you guys okay? did it hurt any of you?"

jeno nodded his head toward renjun and mark looked over at him. the boy was biting his lip, hard and his eyes were shut. he was clutching to his side, before lifting his shirt up. he was bit, and the snake sure had loads of venom. the wound was bleading badly, fresh red blood was dripping out, but it had been almost unnoticable as he was wearing a black shirt. "renjun, i need you to sit here with jeno while i call for an ambulanc-"

"no. that's not needed. i'm f- fine." renjun tried, but it was hard for him to speak because of the pain. "no, stop that. i call an ambulance and the two of you stay here." mark turned to jeno completely. "make sure he stays with you and don't do anything that can worsen the bite, understood?"

jeno nodded and renjun slightly whimpered. mark sighed. "i'll be quick." he decided.


	3. the sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember this is not proof read and no chapters probably ever will lol

it had all been a blur, from when he had called to when they were at the hospital next to renjun while he was sleeping peacefully. it might've been a little overdramatic calling an ambulance when it was just a snake bite, but when the people had looked over it, they had taken him straight to the hospital, thanking mark and jeno loads for calling them as fast as they did, _"or else your friend most likely wouldn't have lived by sunset."_ the two had been told. 

"i'm just glad he's alive." jeno sighed and sat next to mark on a chair, watching renjun with sad eyes. "he was in so much pain i didn't know what to do..." he admitted quietly. mark swallowed thickly, ever since he'd gotten out of the library, a stong feeling of guilt had replaced the anxiety from earlier. "i'm sorry." 

"what are you sorry for?" jeno asked, looking at mark instead.

mark took a brief glance at jeno before turning, looking out the big window on the other side and out at the busy city. "it's my fault, you know." he stated calmly, his hands folded in his lap. another wave of guilt drowned him once again. it was true after all. he had brought them to the library, he had told them about his visions, it somehow probably was his own fault he had these visions as well. "what do you mean it's your fault?" jeno asked, his voice was stern, yet soft and assuring.

"well, it's _my_ visions that brought us to the library, if i had just shut up about them none of this would've happened." mark looked everywhere but at jeno as he spoke. 

jeno was about to say something when a sound of movement came from renjun. the two boys looked over at the third, his eyes were open, already looking at them. "it's not your fault mark. it's my fault that i can't defend myself, that i'm just a weak little shit that needs to be protected at all ti-"

"renjun, shut up. it's no one's fault. okay?" jeno interrupted, his eyes gazing between the two to make sure he had their attention. "first," he turned to mark, "you can't control your visions. it's _not_ your fault you have them, alright? second,"he turned to renjun, "you are not weak. i don't think anyone can defend themseves against that _thing_." he scrunched his nose from distaste at the thought of the snake. "and _i_ was the one who suggested to go to the library."

"yeah but i agreed."

"still not your fault. it's not like you can predict the future, mark." jeno finished.

a week later renjun was out of the hospital. mark and jeno was overly happy about it, now they didn't have to visit the hospital everyday after school.

"i told you, you didn't have to." renjun complained, but a smile was stuck on his face. they were walking home to jeno for a sleepover as it was the weekend. "but how were we supposed to go _a week_ without seeing our best friend? i think your cra- mark?"jeno stopped mid sentence when mark grabbed his shoulder for support. his legs weakened and he could feel it coming. "not here, please. just not here." he mumbled, it was the third time that day. he kept mumbling the words as he tried to walk, his words got blended with each other so it was impossible to understand him and his legs tangled together, and the only reason he didn't collapse at the spot was because jeno and renjun took his weight on both sides.

_he couldn't see much. he was yet again in the cold, cement floored room, but this time it was different. he breathed green, and he felt oddly giddy. it felt as if he was cursed. he was cursed. he could barely breath and the time was running, much faster than usual. he didn't get why he felt giddy in such an awful situation, maybe it was because something in his head told him someone was going to come and save him or maybe it was something else. his hearing sense was sharper than usual, but he still couldn't make out what the people around him was saying. the words slurred together more than usual. his arm was lying in an awkward position, as if he'd just fallen, but no matter how hard he tried he could move his body. and slowly, his eyes shut closed, blovking the only way to actually tell if he was alive or not._

mark regained the stength in his legs pretty fast, he didn't say anything yet, he just speed walked the rest of the way to jeno's house, his friends practically running behind him.

"what did you see?" was the first thing asked when they had safely made it to the basement and out of anyone's hearing sight (dude i forgot the word i was gonna write so i apologise if that made no sense). mark thought and thought. how could it make sense? it _didn't_ make sense. just a few hours ago the boy had been out of the room. he had seen, from the boys perspective, a happy scene. with another boy. he had felt the happiness, and he could feel his feelings. the butterflies in his stomach the the two ran around in the garden, hand in hand looking and admiring the beautiful flowers. types of flowers he'd never seen before. some were purple and some were yellow, some were even a silvery color.

yet again, the first vision he had, it had been another letter. another letter that had given him more to go off, but not much. it was hurried, as if he was in real danger. and maybe he was. the boy had told mark that _he_ , mark, was in danger. that he needed to be careful and to _not_ leave his friends no matter what. that he had to stick with his friends.

"it doesn't make sense." mark mumbled after a long minute. "it just doesn't make sense." he repeated, his hands were shaking and so were the breaths he tried to take. "mark, what did you see?" renjun voice seemed louder than usual, his voice sterner than usual as well. "it... he was cursed. i don't understand. i just don't understand." he spoke and let his head drop in his hands. he rubbed his temples, trying to clear his mind and make sense of it. 

"how can he be cursed now but just a few hours ago he was happy?" renjun asked, his forhead had wrinkles showing he was thinking hard. "i don't know." mark muttered. the questioned seemed to annoy him, though he had no idea why. "but how?" renjun asked again after a brief pause of thinking. mark knew he was just thinking loud, but he couldn't help but feeling even more annoyed. "can't you just shut the fuck up for once in your goddam life?" he shot renjun a piercing glare, "i wish you were still unconcious becuase of the bite, or maybe i should've justleft you there so you could die." and with that he got up and left the basement.

it wasn't before he had drinken a glass of water and calmed down the gult hit him. and when it did, it was worse than it had ever before. suddenly he could feel the back off his eyes burn, it was a sign he was about to cry. _overdramatic fucking crybaby._ he thought to himself, but he wasn't overdramatic for crying becuase of telling his _best friend_ he wanted him dead. he turned away from the kitchen and went down again, but he couldn't care less about the tears that had made their way down his cheeks. 

when he got back to the basement he saw his two friends snuggling on the couch. "hi." he said quietly, he just stood there awkwardly, waiting for the others to notice him. once they did, they didn't say anything. jeno gave him a dissapointed look, while he couldn't read what renjun was feeling. "i'm sorry, i- i didn't mean what i said. i don't know what happened. i- i'm genuenly sorry-"

but renjun cut him off, getting off the couch. "save it." he simply said before walking over to mark and hugged him. "it's okay, i forgive you."

mark squeezed him a little tighter before letting go. 

then a thought hit him. "donghyuck." he breathed out. "that's his name, donghyuck."

the rest of the night, the three just joked around, ordered pizza and watched movies. none of them really wanted to sleep, but as they could barely keep their eye open, they decided it would be for the better. 

mark expected that the moment his head fell on the pillow, he would drift off to sleep, but no. he turned and checked the time multiple times. he tried so many positions, but after a while he got bored trying. he could also feel himself getting thirsty, so at exactly 3:45 am he got out of bed, or the couch he was sleeping on, and went downstairs to get a glass of water. so he walked, as quiet as he possibly could and soon enough he entered the dark kitchen. he took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water. the sound of the sink turning on somehwat startled him as it was louder than he thought it would be. he relaxed not long after, but his senses were still on top. he brought the glass to his lips and chugged the cold water. 

it wasn't before he had sat the glass down, wiped his mouth and was about to go back up and try and sleep again that he heard something. it came from the living room, which didn't seem right since the only way to get to the living room was through the kitchen, and so either mark had been very blind or it had gotten there earlier. the loud breathing became nearer and nearer and mark could hear paws walk over the living room floor. he could hear, whatever it was, growl lowly.

mark's heart was beating so fast he was sure it could hear just because of his heartbeat. when the thing rounded the corner, mark's heart literally stopped. it was a big dog, it had yellow eyes that faded to a shade of red when it spotted mark. it's fur was dark and it looked awful. "fuck." mark mumbled as he saw it wasn't just one, but _three_ dogs. 

it wasn't before the middle dog barked at him a thought hit him. _renjun and jeno._ he ran out of the kitchen, slamming and locking the door that was there, bying him some time. he ran upstairs and back to the room, locking that door as well. "renjun! jeno!" he yelled, shaking them both awake. "we need to get out, now." his voce was demanding, and even though the othe boys were still half asleep, they listened to him. 

the three dogs had made it through the first locked door, and was now hurrying up the stairs making hell of a noise. "what is that?" jeno asked groggily as mark was packing a little bag with some supplies that could be usefull. "they're dogs. i bet they're gonna kill us." he spoke, his tone a little higher than usual. a loud bang told the three the dogs were trying ti break through the door. "the window." mark said, and quickly approached it. he opened it and let the cool night air enter the room. he motioned for renjun and jeno to hop out the window first. "are you _actually_ mad?" renjun whisper-yelled, looking out the window and down. they were on second floor and it was a long way down, but luckily they were a roof they could go on.

"i mean i'd rather break a leg than die fighting three fucking murder dogs. but i don't know about you?" mark said sarcastoically, though humour wasn't exactly the best thing at that moment but it at least got renjun going. "and go upwards, it might buy us more time." 

and so renjun did, jeno followed and lastly mark, he was about to jump out the window, knowing he only had a few seconds. but then he spotted a photo that jeno had framed of them. it was his favorite picture of them, and so he turned and gabbed it just as the dogs got through. the dogs sneered at him and gave him no time to think, they lunged at him but before anyone could say 'avocado' mark was out the window, shutting it. he had no idea how he escaped, but there was no time to think about it now, so he hurried up and met with his friends. 

"everyone alright?" he asked and the two other nodded. "good, now let's go before the dogs get out." and just when he said that, they could hear glass shatter and dogs barking and howling. with a panicked gaze, the three looked at each other and ran.


	4. samuel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry if this is really short :/  
> also still not proof read lol

mark was totally lost. he had no idea where they were or how long they'd been running. his legs felt like overcooked spaghetti but continued to run, for the sake of his friends. he looked behind him to make sure his friends were still by his side, they were. the dogs could be heard only faintly, but they didn't risk stopping. 

they didn't stop running before jeno collapsed from exhaustion, he said he was fine and that they should continue, but neither mark nor renjun had the stength to run anymore. after a minutte ot otwo to catch their breath, jeno was he first to speak. "we need a place to hide."

"it's like four in the fucking morning and gigantic _dogs_ with red and yellow eyes are after us to kill us. where the fuck do you expect us to hide?" renjun exclaimed, fear and tiredness could be seen in his face. everyone quieted for a bit, looking around for a place they possibly wouldn't be found that could fit all three of them. not far away, mark saw a tree, a big tall tree that looked not to difficult to climb in. "can dogs climb in trees?" he asked so quietly it was almost inaudible, but just loud enough for renjun and jeno to hear. 

"usually they can't." renjun stated matter of factly, giving mark some hermione granger vibes by the way he talked. "but who the hell knows about these.. dogs, or whatever they are." he snapped, but still got up and walked towards the tree mark had been looking at. mark and jeno shared a glance before they followed. 

they stood in front of the tree, just staring. it was even bigger than it had looked like from their first spot, renjun let out a grumpy sigh. "yeah and how do you expect us to get up there befpre the dogs come to their senses and find us here?" renjun inquiered, grossing his arms and looked at mark with a raised eyebrow. "i suppose we climb." mark answered, giving a nervous chuckle, scared ti piss the latter off more. "i don't think there's a need for that." jeno broke the tension. he squatted down next to the tree, almost where the grass was, observing something. there, almost so well hidden you could barely see it, was a little dark brown-red ish button. "and what's that gonna do to help us?" renjun asked, seemingly uninterested. 

once again they heard the dogs, heartbeat picking up speed as their paws was thundering towards them, mark spoke hastily, "well press it and see what happens."

and so jeno did, he pressed the button and for the next few seconds it seemed like everything was going in slow motion. the thundering paws semmed so far away as the tree opened, leading a way into it. "let's go." mark said, pushing renjun and jeno inside and following after. the tree started closing again and right then they saw the dogs again, their red and yellow eyes on the other side, only a few feet away when the tree closed completely. the three exchanged a look, they were safe for now. 

mark was the first one to turn and look inside the tree, or what he thought was going to be inside the tree. but instead of what he had imagined, he saw a beach, and it was sunrise he assumed, and trees on the other side. he could feel the sand underneath him. "wow." he uttered. it was beautiful. he blinked, as if he was going to see if he'd imagined it all, but no, it was still there. his voice caught his friends attention, making them turn as well. mark, renjun and jeno, all three, stared at the sight in front of them, mouth slightly open and eyes wide.

when mark was about to take a step forward into their new surroundings, a squeaky voice exclaimed, “woah! watch it, man.”

mark looked around but saw no one, that’s when the voice spoke again, calmer yet it snapped with an offended sound at the end, “down here, stupid boy.” mark looked down and to his surprise, it was a mouse. the mouse was a dark brownish color with hints of grey and with a... sword? it was similar to the one mark had used on the snake, it had the same red mark on the grip, just this sword was much smaller. “merlin’s beard, you’re a mouse!” he exclaimed, aggressively shaking renjun and jeno’s arms. 

”mark who are your talking to? and when the fuck did you start using ‘merlin’s beard’?” jeno asked but looked down at where mark was already looking. but jeno seemed unsatisfied by mark’s observation. “it’s just a mouse, mark.” renjun said, patting his back.

”no, no, i _swear_ it talked.” mark looked at jena and renjun for a split second before turning back to the mouse, squatting down next to it. “i don’t think they can understand you.” he told the mouse with a wry, disappointed smile. “i can tell.” the mouse squeaked. “lift me up, and hold me in front of your friends.” it demanded, and without asking, mark did as he was told. 

renjun and jeno gave him and the mouse a questionable look when mark was standing there, with the mouse in his hand, holding it up to his friends. the mouse stood up on two, amd waved a hand slowly in front of renjun and jeno’s face. it was like a wave of comfort and coziness fell over the place, but only for a brief second. the two, renjun and jeno, snapped fully awake again. an uneasy look on their faces.

”now you can hear me, right?” 

the two screamed, stepped back whilst holding onto each other as if their life was in danger. “finally i can introduce myself.” the mouse sighed before jumping down from mark”s hands. “my name,” it bowed slightly, “is samuel the mouse. pleasure to meet you.”

“nice to meet you, too, samuel. i’m mark, and this is jeno and renjun.” mark introduced, smiling at samuel. 

“so, how did you get here?” samuel asked, made a gesture for the three to follow him. on the way, mark explained. the mouse gave no impression of noot having heard similar stories before, he must be old mark concluded. it took a while to get to samuel’s home, but once they got there, it already felt like a second home. it was small and cozy, the walls had a welcoming blue color and it smelled like fresh made fruit tea. 

“so, all of you’ve had visions?” samuel asked, taking a sip of the cup of coffee he’d just made for himself and the other three. jeno and renjun shook their head, taking a sip of their coffee as well. mark almost laughed at their grimace, but samuel didn’t seem to notice. “no, only me.” mark answered him casually. “ _what_?” samuel exclaimed, dropping his cup on the floor, spilling hot coffee all over. “then why are you here?” samuel had turned to the two others, fear was clear in his eyes and his voice was shaking. his hands gripped onto the wooden table, the broken cup lying on the floor, unnoticed by samuel. 

renjun looked at mark with a panicked look, desperate for help as it seemed like jeno had lost touch with the world at that moment. “they’re here because donghyuck told me-“

” _donghyuck_?!” the mouse screeched. “no, oh god, no. this is bad. how do you know his name? did he tell you his name?!”

”no, he didn’t tell me. i don’t remember..”

”mark, remember when we hugged, after we had fought. you said the name, you said that was his name.” renjun said quietly, jeno beside him still spaced out. samuel sighed in frustration. “do you know how much danger you’ve gotten yourself into?” he asked mark, pacing around. mark just shook his head. “can you help us?” he asked instead.

”oh no, i’m afraid i can’t.”

”why not?”

”i can’t tell you, not now.”

”do you know how i can help donghyuck?”

”stop saying his name!”

there was a pause of silence. “sir, i’m sorry but this taste awful.” renjun said, referring to the coffee. it clearly was to ease the tension that had been created. “oh, i’m so sorry. i’m just so used to have my friend, jaeminover, and he likes his coffee like that.” the ouse apologized, taking the three cups off the table. “what happened to my cup?” he asked no one. “you dropped it when mark mentioned... _him._ ” 

“wait, can jaemin help us, maybe?”

samuel thought for a good second. “yeah, i suppose if he wants to.” 

then samuel drew out a small whistle, took a deep breath before blowing twice. mark flinched, though there was no sound. samuel looked around, putting the whistle back in his pocket. "he'll be here soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot half of what i was gonna write when i sat down to write so i’m sorry it’s later than what i originally planned


End file.
